2. The film's message sometimes got lost in the visuals, which either dominated or seemed out-of-place on occasion; occasionally the film's soundtrack made Suzuki hard to hear.

3. In the film, Suzuki warned against the saturation of technology in our societies a number of times; however the film itself relied heavily on technology and digital special effects to deliver it's message. How much input did Suzuki have during the production of the film? Has he commented on the final product since completion?

It is often difficult to deliver environmental news stories and discuss research and reports as many of the messages are so negative: our global situation can often feel hopeless, leaving one feeling overwhelmed and paralysed.

Using the excellent "Taking Action" resources from Soka Gakkai International (Canada) as a starting point, I presented the following survey to my students in an attempt to gain insight into their viewpoints and assess attitudes with respect to global environmental issues. The graphic below illustrates the mean of the class responses:

It will be interesting to revisit these questions as the course progresses.